Emergence of West Coast Jesuit Education
Although students initially had a difficult time assimilating into American society, other Italian American citizens helped make educational institutions which served well for Italian immigrants. Some examples can be drawn from our own university. Our founder Father Nobili had high aspirations to make Santa Clara College into one of the most prestigious and successful universities in America. On top of this idea, Santa Clara College was a Jesuit institution, which resonated with other Italian American immigrants and provided a sense of comfort and familiarity through common religious beliefs. It is mentioned through The Vision of Loyola in Harper’s Weekly, an east coast newspaper, that Americans hated the Jesuits for believing they were changing their system of education for the worse. However, most aspects of these institutions still held many Americanized public school traditions, only with the addition of religious studies which was shown through the emergence of Jesuit institutions on the west coast. Because of this, Italians with similar religious beliefs felt more comfortable with these institutions. There were less Jesuit institutions on the east coast and Italian American children struggled to find a sense of connection to their schools while discrimination was also an ongoing problem. Meanwhile, California had shown that they are more welcoming to Jesuits and of people with differing religious beliefs and ethnic backgrounds when compared to the east. It was for this reason that Father Nobili was able to acquire the land where Santa Clara University stands in the first place, showing that this region was generally more open to diversity. While Santa Clara College is just one example, other Jesuit and Catholic schools also helped create a more comfortable environment through common religious backgrounds for other Italian immigrants and helped smoothen the process of assimilation towards American culture. Compared to the east coast, Jesuit institutions led to people defecting from the Catholic faith whereas it was more accepted on the west and had a steady growth track in parts of the Bay Area and other populated parts of California.
